Friday, 9 May 2014

However, if you and your other half are constantly at each others throats then this can be seriously bad for your health if you listen to the latest research.

According to a study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, regular screaming matches with each other can double your chances of dying especially if you are middle-aged.

And it seems men and those who are unemployed are most at risk of the fatal consequences of frequent arguments, the authors said.

Researchers from Denmark examined 10,000 men and women aged between 36 and 52- they studied their relationships with friends, family, partners or neighbours.

Around 10 per cent of those quizzed said their partners or children were a frequent or constant sources of excess demands and worries, 6 per cent said these came from relatives and 2 per cent said these came from friends.

Meanwhile, 6 per cent had frequent arguments with their partners and children, 2 per cent with other relatives and 1 per cent with friends.

The participants' health was then tracked been 2000 and 2011 and during this time frame, 4 percent of women and 6 per cent of men died.

Frequent arguments were associated with a double to triple risk of death from any cause compared to those who said that rows were rare.

And those who said they had frequent demands or worries from their children or partners were found to be at a 50 per cent to 100 per cent increased risk of death.

Being out of work appeared to amplify the effect and men seemed to be particularly vulnerable to the worries and demands generated by their partners.

The Danish researchers said: "This study suggests that stressful social relations, ranging from partners to neighbours, are associated with mortality risk among middle-aged men and women.

"Conflicts, especially, were associated with higher mortality risk, regardless of whom was the source of the conflict.

"Worries and demands were only associated with mortality risk if they were related to partners or children.

"We found men were especially vulnerable to frequent worries/demands from their partner, contradicting earlier findings suggesting that women are more vulnerable to stressful social relations."